primary maths

Fibonacci Day – 23rd November

Leonardo Fibonacci lived in the 12th and 13th century and was considered the greatest western mathematician of the Middle Ages. He helped to replace Roman numerals with the Arabic ones we know today but his most famous legacy is the Fibonacci Series, a number sequence from which comes a number known variously as the Golden Mean, the Golden Number or the Golden Ratio which mirrors the proportion seen in nature and perceived beauty. In this series of activities, pupils will investigate the sequence and see how the numbers discovered can be found in nature. Read More

World Maths Day: 14th October 2015

World Maths Day is a fabulous way to celebrate the world of maths but there’ll be some for whom maths isn’t their favourite subject and a maths day may be their idea of torture. Planning World Maths Day to not just be a day of maths will help… Read More

KS1 Enrichment Games

In KS1 it’s imperative that we put maths into a practical perspective. Giving little ones maths in written form is too abstract and detaches them from the understanding of using maths in the real world. There are many ways to enrich KS1 maths with games and here we… Read More

Maths – Scaling up

Some tasks can be mind-numbingly tedious but sometimes have to be done. Here, we pose some questions that the more curious pupils might ask and set about answering them in an easy and roughly accurate way. Activity: Scaling Up Suitable for: Year 3 to Year 6 Learning… Read More

Maths – Statistics

If you were to try to find out the statistics for how many people like strawberries in the UK, it would be very difficult, it not impossible, to ask everyone and publish the results. Because of the difficulties, market researchers use a process called ‘sampling’. Using this process they ask… Read More

Maths – In My Life

It will come as a surprise to us all how much time in our lives we spend doing mundane things. In this activity the pupils will estimate how much time they spend doing a regular activity in a day and then scale it up to see how much time they… Read More

Maths – Monopoly

This February sees the 80th anniversary of the first time the game of Monopoly was seen on sale. It still remains one of the most popular board games across the world and has spawned many local versions. It’s one of the best games for combining luck with skill and logic… Read More

Maths – Graphing Equations

Students will be used to solving algebra equations but in this activity, we will consider how algebra can help us to solve maths puzzles such as sequences. Suitable for: Year 4 to Year 6 Learning Focus: Represent a problem as an algebraic equation Use graphs to help… Read More

Maths: Capacity and Volume

Activity 1: How does capacity differ from volume? Suitable for: Year 3 to Year 6 Learning Focus: To recognise the similarities and differences between capacity and volume It’s no wonder that pupils get capacity and volume confused when many adults think they’re the same thing too. Capacity is… Read More

Maths: Time

Activity 1: Units of Measurement Suitable for: Year 2 to Year 6 Learning Focus: To recognise and learn the units of measurement for time You’d be surprised how many pupils believe that time, like other measurement follows the metric system and that there are… Read More